It was the first weekend in November, and the Raiders and their fans were filled with optimism.
After consecutive victories over the Chargers and Jets – in which Oakland had scored 37 and 34 points – the Raiders were 4-3 and in the playoff hunt. After no postseason trips since 2002, the Raiders suddenly looked like a team stocked with young talent, the right coaching staff and momentum.
Even the national media was getting on board, excited by the explosive Raiders offense led by Derek Carr and Amari Cooper. Still, some analysts were cautioning that Oakland’s sudden rise might be hard to keep going.
“That everyone is so excited about a 4-3 record shows how broken this franchise has been in recent years,” wrote one analyst for Sports Illustrated’s Monday Morning Quarterback section after the win over the Jets. “Fans should feel optimistic, but there are still nine games to play and Oakland will need another five wins – maybe six – to snag one of the two AFC wild-card berths. Maintaining their current level of performance won’t be enough. It never is for newly successful teams. Improvements must continue.”
Five games later, that warning has proven correct. After going 1-4 – including Sunday’s 34-20 loss to the Chiefs – the Raiders are 5-7 and in need of winning out to post an over-.500 record.
The explosive offense went dormant for a couple of games, three teams have scored 30 or more points on the Raiders and Sunday, in the loss to Kansas City, the usually mistake-free Carr threw three interceptions in a game that was there for the taking.
Now, over the final four weeks, the Raiders will face three teams with winning records, including the Broncos this coming Sunday at Denver. The long-delayed trip to the playoffs may be delayed yet another season unless the Raiders suddenly catch fire again.
Sports
As columnist Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group noted after Sunday’s loss to Kansas City, the Raiders haven’t shown enough lately to prove to themselves and their fans that they are a playoff team for 2015.
Wrote Thompson after the loss: “The playoffs, which were possible in the AFC sludgefest, are officially a pipe dream. Not because they are mathematically eliminated, but because they have proved again they aren’t ready for that level.”
